Home and Away
by Dooly
Summary: My first fanfic. The Professor is in the hospital - where will the girls stay? 4th and 5th (final) chapters up.
1. Chapter 1

Home and Away  
  
by Dooly  
  
Characters copyright Cartoon Network  
  
Chapter 1  
  
The City of Townsville was in the middle of a long, lazy summer. The town's resident superheroines, the PowerPuff girls, were enjoying a break from Pokey Oaks Kindergarten and the betterment of their minds through education. Crime had been down recently as well, so the girls were getting a well deserved rest.  
  
One morning, Bubbles awoke with a smile on her face, flew out of the covers, and began bouncing up and down on the bed, much to her sisters' dismay. "Yay! Its morning! We can go to the park, and colour, and play with Robin, and.."  
  
Blossom opened a bleary eye to look at the clock: a quarter past six. "Bubbles! It's way too early to be out of bed. Go back to sleep, or at least find someone else to annoy", Blossom said with irritation.  
  
"Grpphmmph.." Was all that could be heard from Buttercup before she turned over and buried her head back under the covers.  
  
"Hmmph, fine. If you don't want to share this beautiful morning with me, maybe the Professor will", Bubbles zipped out of the room.  
  
"Fat chance of that!" said Blossom. She closed her eyes, and was just drifting back into a semi-conscious state, when she was rudely awakened by two noises:  
  
"Whaaaaaaaam!" the door flew off its hinges.  
  
"Shreeeeeeeik!" shrieked Bubbles, flying through the door into the room.  
  
"Aaargghh! Bubbles, what did I just tell..," Blossom's reprimands were cut short as Bubbles flew into her arms, throwing her crashing through the bed's headboard and into the wall behind.  
  
"Bubbles..," was all Blossom managed to croak out due to the death grip her sister held her in.  
  
Even Buttercup looked wide awake as Bubbles began sputtering out words "Girls, you gotta come quick, the Professor..lab..he.."  
  
That was enough for the other girls. They shot off towards the lab, through the trail of shattered doors that Bubbles had left behind.  
  
"Professor!" Blossom called as they landed on the floor in the centre of the laboratory. They quickly scanned the tables full of test tubes and strange things floating in jars. Then, they saw what must have sent Bubbles flying upstairs - the still form of the professor, slumped over a table in a pool of liquid. His face a pale shade of green speckled with blue, with yellowish, viscous mucous oozing out of his eyes and mouth.  
  
A quick scan with her x-ray vision relieved Blossom of her of her worst fears - his heart was still beating, although in a slow, erratic pattern.  
  
"P..Professor?" she asked hesitantly.  
  
"Girls, don't come near me.. stay away..," the Professor croaked in a voice that made him sound 50 years older than he really was.  
  
"But, we have to help you Professor, you're sick!" protested Buttercup. "We gotta get you to a hospital, fast!"  
  
The Professor seemed to gather what strength he had left. "No.. you can't get infected too - Townsville needs you. Call 911.. Tell them that I have a highly contagious disease..uhhh," the Professor fell forward again, seemingly unconscious.  
  
"What's cutaijus mean?" asked Bubbles worriedly.  
  
Blossom had her best school teacher look on, and was about to speak, when Buttercup broke in "It means that we might get sick too if we touch him or if he coughs on us. Like when the Amoeba boys got everyone in Townsville sick, remember?"  
  
Blossom looked over at her sharply.  
  
"Sorry to steal your thunder, Red, but you're not the only one in this family that knows stuff, yknow." Buttercup retorted.  
  
"We don't have time for this!" Bubbles said loudly. She flew over to the phone and dialed 911. "Hello, this is the Powerpuff Girls house, we have an emergency - no, we don't need the Powerpuff Girls, we are the Powerpuff Girls!"  
  
Bubbles answered the questions posed by the operator with some help from the other girls, then all three waited impatiently for help to arrive.  
  
************  
  
An hour later, the Professor had been transferred into a quarantined ward of the hospital, and the girls floated worriedly in the waiting room.  
  
The doctor, a middle-aged woman with short blonde hair, entered the room and smiled at them. "Hello girls. Don't worry too much about your Dad - we've given him some medicine that has stabilized his condition."  
  
"Yay!" Bubbles threw up her hands excitedly. Can we go see him now?  
  
"I'm sorry Bubbles, but he's still not feeling very well. We wouldn't want any of you to be infected, either. What would Townsville do without you?"  
  
"What are we gonna do without the Professor?" Bubbles asked dejectedly.  
  
"What's wrong with him, Doc?" Buttercup asked.  
  
"It's hard to tell after such a brief analysis, but my first guess is that he has a new strain of the Amoeba boy virus which he discovered the antidote for earlier. I have studied his work extensively, you know," she added. "I was sure that the virus had been eradicated, so I'm not sure how he managed to contract it, unless the Amoeba boys have become infected again."  
  
"Umm, I might know.. " Blossom cut in. The others stared at her. "I was, uhh, looking through some of the books that the Professor writes his experiments down in, and I think I saw something about him doing stuff with the Amoeba Boy virus. I guess he wanted to find out more about it."  
  
"That would be extremely dangerous, and probably illegal", the doctor said in a shocked voice. Her tone softened somewhat "Something I should expect from a man so daring and courageous, yet so gentle and caring as Professor Utonium.." she stared dreamily into space, and sighed.  
  
The girls looked up at her with blank expressions on their faces.  
  
The doctor shook her head. "Uh, I mean, there's no time to lose. Blossom, can you find the books that the Professor was writing his experiments in?"  
  
Blossom nodded. She flew off quickly and in no time returned with several large tomes and a couple of vials of liquid which the professor had mentioned in the writings.  
  
She glanced around the room. "Where's Buttercup?"  
  
"Just bringing in something else I thought you might need" came Buttercup's voice from behind her.  
  
Blossom turned and saw Buttercup coming down the hallway with all three Amoeba boys in a large bucket.  
  
"Does this mean that we're dangerous criminals again?" asked Bossman dazedly.  
  
"Yeah, criminals?" echoed Tiny.  
  
"Sure boys, we're going to have to lock you away for a few days, maybe weeks," said the doctor.  
  
"Yay!" the Amoebas cheered.  
  
"Will ya fight with us too? Please?" asked Slim.  
  
"Sorry guys, we're not really in the mood right now," answered Bubbles. The Amoeba boys looked disappointed as they were carried by a research assistant into the hospital laboratory.  
  
The doctor took the books from Blossom. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to be very busy with this on top of all my other duties, so I'll have to leave you now. I've phoned the city, and they've sent someone to see you're looked after during the Professor's stay in the hospital"  
  
Blossom began, "We don't need anyone else to look after us, we're.."  
  
All three girls struck a dramatic pose and chorused, "The PowerPuff Girls!"  
  
A voice came from behind them, "That's where you're wrong. Just because you have super powers doesn't change the fact that you are under 18, and therefore minors, and being minors means that you need a parent or other guardian to be responsible for all of your needs, such as food, shelter, and of course, a good education at one of our nations fine institutions of learning".  
  
The girls turned around and saw a hulking, square jawed man in a trenchcoat standing over them. "Jack Wednesday!" They shouted in surprise.  
  
"I thought you were a truant officer", Buttercup said with suspicion.  
  
"I am a truant office, but that profession, despite being one that serves the youth of our nation well, does not give me adequate monetary compensation to suffice my comfortable yet modest lifestyle - especially during the summertime, as it is now. So I do other work for the municipality, including finding foster homes for children who are without proper caregivers, and that includes you."  
  
"I know, I know!" exclaimed Bubbles. "We can stay at Ms. Keanes' house!" She's really nice, and she likes us!"  
  
"Although Ms. Keane may be an adequate caregiver for you, which I doubt given her propensity for violence against authorities figures such as myself, she is not on the list of accepted hosts for foster children. Furthermore, the mayor and myself have already determined the best residences for you to be housed in," he held out a paper with the mayor's official seal at the bottom.  
  
The girls flew up and studied the paper.  
  
"Huh, I'm staying with Mojo Jojo?!" Blossom gasped. "Fuzzy Lumpkins?!" shrieked Bubbles. "The Mitchelsons? Alright!" Buttercup punched the air in excitement.  
  
"What do you mean proper caregivers, these are probably the worst places we could stay in all of Townsville!" Blossom yelled at Jack.  
  
"Be that as it may, all three of these households can provide food and shelter for you, and two of them are also cost-efficient, given that they have numerous hours of community service that they owe to the city because of their former misdeeds, which they are now no doubt rehabilitated from because of their time spent at Townsville Correctional Facility."  
  
"Well, I'm not going!" Bubbles pouted, folding her arms.  
  
"Aww, don't be such a baby, Bubbles. It'll be fun to live somewhere else for a change," Buttercup reasoned.  
  
"You're just saying that because you'll be living with your boyfriend," Bubbles puckered up her lips "Oh Mitch, you're so wonderful, muh muh!"  
  
"Ok Bubbles, you're asking for it!" Buttercup pulled back her fist to take a swing at her sister.  
  
Blossom flew in between the two puffs and held out her arms. "Come on guys, this is no time to be fighting with each other. We need to be strong for the Professor's sake." She turned towards Bubbles. "Bubbles, we'd be going against the law by not staying at our assigned foster parents houses." Blossom said sadly. She gazed at the door behind which the Professor lay. "We have to go, no matter how much we don't want to."  
  
To be continued. 


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for the reviews! Hairy Gregory, I figured Mojo and Fuzzy got on the list the same way, say, Mojo got the babysitting job in Child Fearing, or Fuzzy was elected in Impeachment Fuzz - there aren't too many bright lights in Townsville! Icekings, I don't expect to have any angst in my story - well, maybe just a little. Spot the Red Dwarf references in the next chapter!  
  
  
  
Chapter 2  
  
Characters copyright Cartoon Network  
  
The girls went home with Mr. Wednesday to pack their things. They had a brief argument about who should take the hotline, until Bubbles remembered the miniature hotline "wristwatches" that the Professor had developed for each of them. They had never liked wearing them much, as they tended to get in the way of other activities, but they seemed the perfect solution in this case. While they could not communicate with each other on the phones, at least they would all be alerted quickly in case of an emergency. The girls bid a sad goodbye to each other, and were quickly chaperoned off to their respective foster homes.  
  
Bubbles slowly approached Fuzzy's dilapidated shack, suitcase in hand, and knocked on the door "Hello! Anyone home?" She opened the door a crack.  
  
"Yeah, I'm here, git yerself inside and shut that there door, were yuh born in a barn?" Fuzzy snarled at her from his seat in front of the fireplace.  
  
Bubbles sighed and entered the hut, shutting the door behind her.  
  
"I don't like havin yuh here any more than y'all wanna be here, but since y'all's here, we might as well make the best of it." Fuzzy pointed to a pile of rags in the corner. "You kin put yer stuff over there"  
  
"Is that where I sleep?" asked Bubbles nervously.  
  
"Heck no, yuh kin sleep with Ferdinand" Fuzzy pointed to a slumbering pig on a pile of straw in the opposite corner. "Them rags are for yuh te do yer household chores with. Y'all kin start by cleanin up this here shack, it's a right mess, uh hu hu heeuh!" Fuzzy guffawed as he turned back towards the fireplace and reached for his "jug of water".  
  
Bubbles sighed again, and moved slowly towards the rag heap.  
  
****************  
  
"Hi Mojo!" Blossom crashed through the roof into the main room of Mojo's hideout.  
  
The monkey turned in alarm from a large blueprint he had been studying, then threw up his arms in frustration "Aaargh! In case you did not notice, I have a device located in the external wall of the observatory known as a door. The purpose of this apparatus is to allow for convenient entrance into the building, thus eradicating the need to make an alternate entrance by crashing through the top of my home!"  
  
"Whoops, sorry, it just seemed so natural," Blossom said "So, uh, I guess I'm going to be here for a while."  
  
"Yeah, yeah. I knew I should not have agreed to a reduced sentence in exchange for community service, as my brilliant mind always allows me to escape shortly after I have been incarcerated anyway. What was I thinking? Anyway, do not bother me now, I'm busy trying to take over .", Mojo glanced nervously up at Blossom " uuuh. trying to look over this plan I have that is really of no great importance or interest to anyone."  
  
"Sure Mojo, whatever." Blossom floated down onto the floor, and gazed forlornly out at the city below through one of the observatory's oval windows.  
  
*********************  
  
Buttercup had been at the Mitchelson's for nearly two hours now. She had been having a great time with Mitch. So far, they had played football, tried lighting various things on fire with a magnifying glass (a task they found was much more successful when Buttercup used her laser eyes), and watched "Die Screaming with Sharp Things Sticking Out of Your Head".  
  
Buttercup lay on the floor of Mitch's room after the movie had finished. "This is awesome! Say, how come your Grandma's looking after me, anyway? She didn't go to jail, did she?"  
  
"What?" Mitch looked confused "Nah, Grandma hasn't even been out of the house in about fifty years. She just needs the money. Ever since Dad started that new business, things have been pretty tight around here"  
  
"What's he do?"  
  
"He has a stand over at Townsville Stadium, selling crab-apple beet drink."  
  
"Yecch!" Buttercup stuck her tongue out." How can anybody drink that stuff? It's gross!"  
  
"That's what everybody thinks. He's been there 2 months, and hasn't even sold enough to pay for his stand rent".  
  
Buttercup suddenly noticed her stomach was rumbling. "Hey, I'm starving, what's for dinner?"  
  
"Lessee", Mitch rummaged through the fridge. "Here we go!" He turned around to display a half empty bottle of congealed ketchup, some orange cheese slices speckled with green, a limp carrot, and a container of "Cup O' Noodles".  
  
Buttercup sagged with disappointment "You aren't actually going to eat any of that stuff, are you?"  
  
"Hey, its not so bad with ketchup," Mitch splorched some of the aging reddish sauce onto the carrot and bit into it. "Mmmm, chewy!"  
  
"Don't you have anything else in there?" Buttercup asked, starting to feel desperate.  
  
"Well, there's some crab-apple beet drink."  
  
Buttercup sighed, "Pass over the Cup O' Noodles"  
  
"If you say so. Some people have no taste." Mitch commented as he tossed her the container.  
  
***************  
  
In the meantime, Bubbles, although exhausted from hours of cleaning Fuzzy's hut, feeding his animals, and shovelling manure, was enjoying her dinner much more than Buttercup.  
  
"Wow, Fuzzy, this is really good!" Bubbles eagerly chowed down on the meal in front of her.  
  
"Thanks. Ah made it maself!" Fuzzy proudly proclaimed, rapidly shovelling his own bowl of food into his mouth.  
  
"What is it? The Professor never made anything like this for us", asked Bubbles.  
  
"Squirrel stew. Made it with a critter ah shot on mah property yesterday. Bubbles?... Hey, what's the matter?"  
  
Bubbles had turned a pale shade of green. She then proceeded to pale to a sort of speckled grey, before falling out of her chair in a dead faint.  
  
Fuzzy stood up and leaned over to look at her.  
  
"Huh, these young uns shore get tired early. Oh well, she kin do the dishes in the morning, ain't no hurry" Fuzzy moved out to his chair on the porch to resume his daily inactivity.  
  
*********** Blossom sat on the floor of Mojo's lair, watching the villain continuously tightening a bolt on a large, ominous looking machine. She looked down at her hotline wristwatch wistfully; it had not rung once since the girls had left the hospital.  
  
"Mojo, can I.."  
  
"Do not disturb my concentration now, this is a very delicate procedure which requires my full attention, so I cannot be interrupted at this time", Mojo continued to tighten the bolt.  
  
Blossom moaned, and looked around the room. She reached out to pick up a ship in a bottle sitting on the coffee table.  
  
"And do not touch anything!" came the imperious command from behind her. Moaning again, she let her hand drop, and returned to staring out the window.  
  
To be continued.. 


	3. Chapter 3

A quick reply to the reviews - yes, Bubbles homestay seems to be the best so far, but that may change soon! As for Mojo warming up to Blossom? Wait and see!  
  
  
  
Chapter 3  
  
Characters copyright Cartoon Network  
  
"Chucka cheek check chek churk!" Bubbles said in frustration to the furry brown woodchuck in front of her. Roughly translated into English, it worked out to "Don't come here, bad thing will hurt you!"  
  
"I don't see a bad thing," said the woodchuck, looking around.  
  
"No, but this is his territory. If he finds you, he'll try to hurt you!"  
  
"But there's food here."  
  
"You can find food somewhere else! It's not safe here!"  
  
"But I'm hungry."  
  
"Oh, never mind!" Bubbles picked up the woodchuck and, despite his obvious displeasure at the new experience, flew rapidly to a spot a few kilometres away from Fuzzy's hut. She deposited him in a clearing where he confusedly looked about and then shuffled off in the same direction he had come from.  
  
"This isn't working!" thought Bubbles. Her eyes were bloodshot and heavily lidded; she had been transporting small, cute animals to safety for the better part of the night now, and the lack of sleep was catching up to her. "I'll have to think of something else. Suddenly, she perked up. "I know! I can build a fence around his property! That'll stop 'em!"  
  
"Buuuuuuubles," came Fuzzy's cry distantly from her temporary home "Time tuh give Ferdinand a bath. He's gettin' a mite ripe."  
  
Bubbles looked down at herself; she was covered with grime and animal fur from her chores and nighttime adventures. "I wonder when my bathtime is," she thought grumpily as she slowly flew back towards the shack.  
  
*******  
  
"Cuuuurrrsess!!"  
  
Blossom shot bolt upright from her bed on the couch. "What's going on?" She sprang into the air, ready for action.  
  
Mojo was bent over his workbench, and appeared not to have noticed her. "My plan, which has been progressing so wonderfully, has been halted in its progression! I do not have all of the chemicals I require to complete the concoction, although I had them a short time ago which is why I believed I still had them in my possession, as I forgot that I used them previously this month in another plan which was not so great as this one, and in fact did not work at all. And without these ingredients, I, Mojo Jojo, cannot complete my greatest plan ever, and with it conquer..," he turned with arms raised to deliver the final words of his rant, and noticed Blossom floating above the couch "uhh, conquer the market on uhh.. nutritional additives with my new and innovative product," he finished in a subdued voice.  
  
"Mojo, what are you talking about?" asked Blossom wearily.  
  
"Nothing, never mind, it is none of your business," Mojo said turning back to his plan.  
  
"Maybe I could help," said Blossom, more brightly as she gained full consciousness. "What chemicals do you need?"  
  
"Fahh, like I need the help of a small child to complete my work. This is much too complicated for one so young and simple minded as yourself," Mojo said haughtily.  
  
"For your information, I help the Professor in his lab all of the time."  
  
"Oh I'm sure you do," said Mojo, rolling his eyes. "Yes, I'm sure you are a great help to him when he is working on advanced biogenetic engineering experiments."  
  
"And, I know where he keeps all of the different chemicals in his laboratory," Blossom continued, ignoring Mojo's sarcastic tone. "And how he labels them."  
  
Mojo suddenly appeared to take more interest in his young ward. "Really? Blossom, I retract the derogatory words which I used previously with regards to your person. Perhaps you can help me after all."  
  
"Uhh, thanks, I think..," said Blossom. "But listen, here's the deal. I'll try to find the chemicals for you, but you have to let me help you in the rest of your experiment, too."  
  
"Preposterous! You could never hope to be of any use to me! You would just slow down my work on my plan."  
  
"Well, that's the deal," Blossom stated calmly, folding her arms. "If I don't help, you don't get the chemicals."  
  
"Very well, maybe we can work something out," grumbled the monkey.  
  
"Great!" Said Blossom, happy at the chance to break the monotony of her stay at Mojo's lair. "What do you need first?"  
  
*******  
  
Buttercup slowly eased open the front door of her regular home in Pokey Oaks suburb, and gazed around the entranceway. It was strange to see it so quiet and dark. A wave of homesickness swept through her, and she felt tears brimming in her eyes. She wiped them away disgustedly - it wasn't like she was going to be away forever - surely she could handle a few days away from her sisters and dad.  
  
Suddenly she detected a noise coming from the basement. She used her ultrasonic hearing to listen more intently; she could hear the distinct clinking noise of metal and glass objects being moved around. "Whoever you are, you sure picked the wrong house to rob!" she proclaimed as she sped down towards the basement door, breaking through it at lighting speed.  
  
She spied a small figure in the gloom, and without hesitation slammed into the intruder from behind. "Hah! Gotcha! Huh?" She did a double take as the identity of her captive suddenly registered. "Blossom! Oh man, it is so great to see you!" Buttercup embraced Blossom in a bear hug.  
  
"Yeah, its great to see you too, Buttercup, now will you PLEASE GET OFF ME!"  
  
"Whoops, sorry!" Buttercup floated up into the air. Blossom stood up and dusted herself off.  
  
"So, uh, how are things at Mojo's?" asked Buttercup, a little embarrassed at her overt display of emotion.  
  
"It's pretty boring. He doesn't let me do anything." Blossom shuffled her feet nervously. She asked more brightly "What about you, you must be having fun at the Mitchelsons'!"  
  
"It's ok. It'd be a lot better if they had anything to eat. I'm starving! I came back to see if there was still any of the Professor's broccoli cheese casserole in the fridge!"  
  
"Wow, you must be hungry!" Blossom said, smiling. "You hate that stuff!"  
  
"You're not kidding. And all I have to drink is this awful crab-apple beet drink."  
  
"That doesn't sound too bad," said Blossom.  
  
"Here, try some," Buttercup produced a plastic container full of a red liquid.  
  
"Blossom removed the cap and sniffed at the contents. "Yecch, no thanks!" She placed the container on a shelf out of range of her olfactory senses. "Well, I'd better get back to Mojo's."  
  
Buttercup gave her sister an odd look "Say, what are you doing back here, anyway? How come you're in the Professor's laboratory? You know he doesn't like us to be down here by ourselves."  
  
"I, uh, was looking for my new "Justice Gal" comic book - I thought I left it down here the last time I was helping the Professor."  
  
Buttercup studied her sister. "She's hiding something," she thought. "She always keeps all her stuff so organized, and she wouldn't have been reading comics down here, anyway." She opened her mouth to confront Blossom with these facts, when they heard a crash from above.  
  
"Jeez Louis, now there's someone in our back yard!" Buttercup sped up the stairs and out through the back door, and Blossom quickly followed.  
  
They spied the third sister rummaging through some old hammers and saws the Professor kept in the gardening shed.  
  
"Bubbles!" both girls exclaimed in surprise.  
  
"Blossom! Buttercup!" Bubbles flew into their arms, and the girls engaged in a quick group hug.  
  
Blossom pulled back and started in surprise. "Bubbles! What happened to you?"  
  
Bubbles face and clothes were covered with dirt and grime. Her large blue eyes had streaks of red running through them, and large black bags beneath them.  
  
"No time to talk, gotta save the animals.. do laundry.. chop wood." Bubbles drifted off, a blank look on her face.  
  
"Bubbles, make sense!" Buttercup snapped her "fingers" in front of Bubbles face.  
  
"Ohh, its horrible! Fuzzy's been trying to shoot all of the cute little animals on his property! And yesterday he fed me squirrel stew!" Bubbles looked as if she would burst into tears at any moment.  
  
"Mmmmm, squirrel stew.", Buttercup said dreamily.  
  
"Buttercup!" Blossom shot her sister an angry look.  
  
Bubbles ignored her sisters. "Can't sleep, gotta finish my fence around Fuzzy's place .. save the squirrels. rabbits. gophers.."  
  
"Uhh, Bubbles, I think squirrels can climb fences," said Blossom.  
  
"And rabbits and gophers can dig under them," added Buttercup helpfully.  
  
The information took a minute to get through Bubbles sleep addled brain, then she sank to the ground, tears pouring from her eyes. "I can't just sit there and watch, I hafta do something!" she wailed.  
  
"Just beat the stuffing out of him! Want me to help?" Buttercup's eyes lit up at the thought of some action.  
  
"No, Buttercup, its not against the law to shoot animals on your own property," Blossom stated. "Sorry Bubbles. I guess there's nothing you can do."  
  
"Well, I'm not giving up!" Bubbles said resolutely. "I won't sleep until I've found a way to stop Fuzzy!"  
  
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!  
  
"The hotline!" the miniature phones on all three girls' wrists began ringing. Blossom picked hers up.  
  
"Yes Mayor? A giant monster is destroying Townsville? We're on it! Buttercup, Bubbles, let's go!" The girls looked at each other happily for a moment; things felt normal for the first time since they had found the Professor in the laboratory. Then they took off towards the centre of town, leaving their multicoloured trail behind them in the night sky.  
  
To be continued. 


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4  
  
Mojo leaned over a large cauldron, carefully adding a tablespoon of yellow power to the contents within. He glanced up from his work as Blossom flew in through an open window. "What took you so long this time?" He asked suspiciously.  
  
"Sorry, Mojo. I had to save the day from a giant monster. Anyway, I got what you asked for," Blossom produced the vials she had found at the Professor's after she had finished the fight downtown.  
  
Mojo grinned broadly. "Excellent work, Blossom! We have nearly all the ingredients necessary to complete my newest project!"  
  
"The nutritional additive, right?"  
  
"Yes, that is correct. Thanks to my creation, fourteen orphans rather than ten will be able to be fed with the same amount of gruel!"  
  
Blossom looked at Mojo quizzically. "Mojo Jojo, can I ask you a question?"  
  
"Of course, Blossom. Are you interested in learning about some of the brilliant scientific discoveries I have discovered in my brief yet productive career as a mad genius?"  
  
"Umm, maybe later. Actually, I wanted to ask you why you're making something so helpful for people. I mean, don't you usually create things to help you destroy the world?"  
  
"Rule, not destroy. For if I destroyed the world, there would be no one left for me to rule, and furthermore, nowhere for me to live, as the world includes the place where I take up residence. And for the answer to your previous inquiry, as you grow older, you will see that people are more complex than you imagine as a young girl. You see, although I wish to have total control over mankind and subjugate all who live in this town, I also feel sympathy towards those who are lacking basic needs of life, including food, shelter, and the love of loving parents. Furthermore, the government gives out grants for stuff like this. Since you Powerpuffs prevent me from succeeding in my non-law abiding activity, I need to make a living somehow. Do you understand what I am saying, Blossom?"  
  
"I guess that makes sense." Said Blossom, looking thoughtful.  
  
Now read me the next line on the formula."  
  
"3 milligrams of hydranium chlorate." I can get that! Blossom flew off to get the chemical.  
  
Mojo rubbed his hands together. Ha!, my plan is coming together perfectly! Little does Blossom know that it is not a nutritive supplement that we are making, but a compound that induces feelings of adoration and respect in all that look at the chosen recipient of the formula, and that in this case the recipient shall be none other than me, Mojo Jojo! After I complete this concoction, I will infiltrate Townsville's water purification plant and pour it into the town's water supply, where all will drink it and fall under my spell. It is the perfect irony that the town's saviour will have a hand in destroying its citizens free will, and their consequent oppression the greatest villain who ever created an evil plot, me!" Mojo indulged himself in an evil laugh.  
  
Blossom returned with the necessary ingredient. "I've got it Mojo. Did you say something to me?"  
  
"Yes, Blossom, I was just thanking you for being so helpful in helping me in this project that I am working on!"  
  
Blossom beamed. "No problem, Mojo, you can count on me!"  
  
*********  
  
That evening, Buttercup sat on a tree branch outside of the Utonium residence, munching contentedly on some cookies she had found in the kitchen cupboard. She was dressed in black "Ninja gear" that she had received as a present on the girls' last birthday. She waited, and watched the house. After about half an hour, she noticed a pink streak moving across the sky towards the building. "Ah hah, I thought so!" she said quietly. She waited until Blossom had entered the house, then sneaked in after her.  
  
She followed Blossom down to the basement. The pink PowerPuff girl proceeded to open the Professor's dangerous chemical cabinet, and rummage around in it. She came out with a couple of vials of powder, and was just about to depart from the lab, when Buttercup stepped out of the shadows.  
  
"Hah, Gotcha!" Buttercup said triumphantly. "I knew you were up to something down here last night!"  
  
Blossom almost dropped the vials she was holding in surprise. "Buttercup! What are you doing here?"  
  
"I decided to find out what you were really down in the lab for," said Buttercup. "Now come on, tell me what you need those chemicals for."  
  
Blossom sighed and looked tired. "I'm helping Mojo with some of his experiments, ok?"  
  
"No, it's not ok!" Buttercup yelled in Blossoms' face, causing her ribbon to bend back with the force of it. "Mojo's our worst enemy, and you're helping him with something that could hurt us, or all of Townsville! What's the matter with you?"  
  
"Buttercup, not everything Mojo creates is for evil. I know him better than you, now that I've lived with him for a while. He has lots of experiments going on, and some of them could actually help society."  
  
"Oh yeah, and you believe him when he tells you that?"  
  
Blossom looked wounded. "Buttercup, I'm learning a lot of stuff. Mojo's letting me help a lot more than the Professor ever does. I really want to be a scientist one day, and I have to start somewhere."  
  
Buttercup stared in amazement at her sister. "Blossom, Mojo must be putting stuff in your breakfast cereal, cause I never thought I'd hear you talk like this! Maybe he's the guy I should be talking to," Buttercup pounded her fist into the wall.  
  
"Buttercup, no!" Blossom looked alarmed. "Just promise me you won't tell anyone, ok?", Blossom looked hopefully at her sister. "It would hurt my reputation as a superhero if word got out that I was helping Mojo"  
  
"Gee, really? I wonder why?" Buttercup looked in disgust at her sister. "Ok, if your education is more important than your integrity, you go ahead. But don't think I won't stand in your way if I have to."  
  
Blossom's face turned red. "I knew you wouldn't understand, Buttercup. Just trust me on this one, ok? I know what I'm doing." Then she picked up the vials she had been carrying, and flew off into the night.  
  
Buttercup sighed. "Just trust me," she said, as she mimicked Blossom's voice as best she could. "Blossom may think she can handle this on her own, but I know her. She's letting her curiosity get the better of her. I'm gonna be on Mojo's trail like uh.. like stink on a monkey!"  
  
**************  
  
Bubbles lay on her back in the pile of straw she shared with Ferdinand. She had had a busy day repairing Fuzzy's car, and was covered with grease and oil as a result. "Uh, can't sleep... gotta save the animals. think Bubbles." her eyelids felt as heavy as if someone had tied weights onto the bottom of each one. "Maybe I'll just rest them for a minute," she thought tiredly. As soon as her eyes were closed, Bubbles fell into a deep sleep. Several hours later, she sat bolt upright, a smile on her face. "Aha! I've got it!" She quietly levitated out of the house through the chimney and flew off into the forest.  
  
To be continued.. 


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5  
  
Mojo and Blossom were up late into the night to finish the potion described in Mojo's text. Blossom was wide awake, even though it was far past her bedtime.  
  
"Yes, yes!" Mojo crowed. "I have almost created my greatest invention ever! There is only one more ingredient to add to the vessel, and it will be complete!"  
  
Mojo took out a needle and proceeded to jab himself in the arm with it, and draw out a small amount of blood, which he deposited in an eye dropper. Blossom sat on a bench beside him, fiddling with some of the equipment on the worktable.  
  
"Now I will add three drops of chimpanzee blood to the concoction (which is very high in nutrients, by the way, Blossom), and it will be ready to use!"  
  
"Oh, can I add the last ingredient?" asked Blossom eagerly.  
  
"No, it is essential that this part of the procedure be done exactly right, so I must do it myself to ensure the success of the project."  
  
"Please, will you let me do it.. Dad?"  
  
Mojo spun around rapidly, and his eyes flashing with anger. "Do not ever call me by that name again! I am not your father, nor any relation of yours, and the only part I had in your creation or that of your sisters was an accident, a mishap, a mistake! Furthermore, the explosion that created you was Professor Utonium's fault, for he did not take proper precautions to ensure that his experiments were done in a secure environment, without dangerous chemicals or other hazards nearby! Therefore, Dad, Father, or any other terms of affection used for paternal figures are not appropriate monikers for you to be calling me!" Blossom looked stricken at the sudden outburst, and Mojo calmed himself down and added "But if it means so much to you, you may add the last ingredient to the concoction." He held out the eyedropper.  
  
Blossom smiled and took it from him. She turned towards the potion, and slowly added exactly three drops of the red fluid into the container. There was a dramatic puff of smoke, and the concoction turned a darker shade of red.  
  
"Excellent Blossom, together we have successfully completed the formula! I will have it delivered to the suppliers of orphanage gruel first thing in the morning. But for now, we both need some sleep. I will retire now to my bed, and I suggest you do the same." Mojo stretched and yawned, and headed towards his bedroom.  
  
"Sure thing, goodnight Mojo!" Blossom lay down on the couch and closed her eyes.  
  
***********  
  
Later that night, Buttercup was doing her nightly rounds of the city. Never one to enjoy going to bed early, she had gotten into a routine of patrolling the city after dark for a few hours once Mitch had fallen asleep. "This is the best!" she exclaimed. "All of the best crimes are committed at night. When the professor is better, I gotta ask him if I can do this all the time. I'll be Townsville's Batman!"  
  
She scanned the skyline of the city with her x-ray vision, looking for any signs of criminal activity. She then focussed on her supersonic hearing, and was not very surprised to hear a deep, maniacal laugh coming from the direction of Townsville water. She turned her gaze in that direction, and saw her archenemy atop of the tower with a large vial of liquid in his hand.  
  
"Ahaa, I knew he was up to no good!" she sped off in the direction of the water tower. She was just about to yell out a challenge to the monkey, when arms reached around her from behind and halted her approach. Buttercup spun around in midair.  
  
"Blossom, what are you doing?"  
  
"Shhh.. quiet" said Blossom, holding a finger to her lips.  
  
"Blossom, are you crazy, Mojo's dumpin' some chemical into Townsville's water supply! We don't have any time to lose!  
  
"Good to see you put so much faith in your sister, Buttercup! For your information, I've been secretly reading all of Mojo's scientific journal entries, and I've taken steps to make sure that nobody will come to any harm."  
  
"Can't we fight him anyway?" asked Buttercup impatiently.  
  
"There's no need. Mojo thinks that potion is going make people in Townsville obey his commands, but I made some adjustments in the formula. I was supposed to put three drops of his blood into the concoction, but I switched eye droppers on him at the last minute."  
  
"So, what did you put in?"  
  
"Crab-apple beet drink."  
  
"Hi!"  
  
"Aaaahhh!" Blossom and Buttercup spun around in surprise to see Bubbles hovering in the air behind them.  
  
"Bubbles! How'd you find us?"  
  
"Followed your light beams in the sky. If you guys were trying to be sneaky, you didn't do a very good job."  
  
"I thought you were busy at Fuzzy's".  
  
"Yeah, don't you have to protect all of the 'cute little animals'?" asked Buttercup.  
  
"Oh, I don't think Fuzzy will be bothering any of them for a while," said Bubbles happily.  
  
"Why, what'd you do to him?" asked Blossom, a hint of suspicion in her voice.  
  
"Oh, let's just say I asked an old friend to drop by," said Bubbles smugly. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to catch up on some sleep."  
  
"You could use a bath, too," said Buttercup, holding her nose. "And it's pretty bad when I gotta say that!"  
  
************* Next day in Townsville, the Townies were going about their daily business. A few glanced up as a giant Robo Jojo thundered its way through the streets to take up a position in front of the city hall. Mojo Jojo emerged from the robot's glass bubble, and stood on its top with a loudspeaker in his hand.  
  
"Citizens of Townsville, hear my words! As you turn to gaze upon my features, you will instantly feel a desire to obey me! Your own petty requirements and needs will not be important to you anymore, for you will realize that I, Mojo Jojo, am your true master, and that anything which I have need of is far more important, because I am your leader! Bow down and worship me, people of Townsville! I am the one you esteem, the one you idolize! I am - hey! Why is no one listening to me? What are you people doing? Are you stupid? Do you not here my words?"  
  
A man in the crowd frowned in concentration. "What's he going on about? Something about birds?"  
  
"I don't know. I'm so thirsty, I can't think!" An elderly woman clutched her throat in frustration.  
  
"Me too!" Shouted the rest of the Townies.  
  
A truck driver with a large belt buckle crawled along the ground, his tongue hanging out. "I need water. No! I need something much more delicious and thirst quenching. I need. I need.. cranberry beet drink!"  
  
"Yeah!" shouted the Townies.  
  
"But where can we get it?" wailed a young woman in alarm.  
  
"Hey I know, there's a stall over at Townsville Stadium!" said Talking Dog brightly.  
  
"To the stadium!" The Townies began stampeding away from the City Hall in the direction of Townsville Stadium.  
  
"Wait! Where are you going? Come back! Obey me! Listen to. oh, never mind." Mojo dropped his arm holding the loudspeaker, and looked dejectedly at the empty square in front of City Hall. "Curses, how could my plan fail? My plans never fail! Perhaps the people of this city are of lower intelligence than most, and as such their simple brain chemistry is not affected by my complex chemical mixture. Perhaps they are not worth ruling. I think next time I will just destroy them all and rule somewhere else." He climbed back into his Robo Jojo and stomped back to Volcano Mountain, crushing a few parked cars along the way to vent his frustrations.  
  
******** Fuzzy Lumpkins was standing in Townsville Police Station. His face was covered with bruises, his nose was dripping blood, and his boomstick was wrapped around his neck.  
  
A couple of very unimpressed police officers were sitting at the front desk, looking over the complaint form that they had recorded for Fuzzy. "So you say a squirrel attacked you on your own property when you were out hunting, beat you up, and wrapped your boomstick around your neck."  
  
"It weren't no ordinary squirrel," protested Fuzzy.  
  
"Right, it was a flying squirrel that attacked you."  
  
"That's right!" agreed Fuzzy. "A flying squirrel with glowing red eyes!"  
  
"Sure, Fuzzy, we'll get right on that for you!" the Police Officer turned to his compatriot and made a motion with his hand as if he was drinking out of a jug.  
  
"I'm telling y'all, it was real!" Fuzzy yelled in frustration.  
  
"Sure, Fuzzy. You want us to check out any little green men for you while we're at it?" Both Police officers burst out laughing.  
  
"Oh, ferget it." Fuzzy stormed out of the station. "Stupid law officials, why if I had my way they'd ..Aaaaaeeeeeee!" was all Fuzzy managed to get out before being trampled by a large mob heading frantically towards Townsville Stadium.  
  
*********** Later that day, Mojo Jojo sat in his armchair reading the Townsville Daily. The headlines read "Thousands Storm Crab-apple Beet Drink Stand; Vendor in Critical Condition." "What is this town coming to?" he thought in disgust, before flipping through the pages to find 'Dear Abby'.  
  
*******  
  
A large pile of food was sitting in the middle of the kitchen table at the Mitchelson's trailer. Buttercup and Mitch sat on either side of it, gorging happily.  
  
Buttercup bit into a large hamburger she was holding in one hand, then licked the triple scoop ice cream cone she was holding in the other.  
  
"Your Dad must be pretty happy!" she said through a mouthful of food. "Selling all of that crab-apple beet drink in one day!"  
  
"Yeah, and I bet he'll be even happier when he gets out of the hospital and can enjoy some of it!" said Mitch, who was managing to keep up with Buttercup in junk food consumption.  
  
"It's a good thing he sold that stand, people are starting to get sick of that stuff again, anyway," Buttercup tossed the last of her burger into her mouth, and reached for another.  
  
"Well, its kinda hard to work when you're in a body cast," answered Mitch.  
  
The phone rang, and Buttercup rushed to answer it. "Hello? Yes, this is Buttercup." As she listened, her face lit up in an uncharacteristic smile. "Really? Great! Thanks for telling me, Doctor!" She hung up the phone. "Guess what, Mitch, the Professor is all better now, I can go home!"  
  
"Awwww, who am I gonna play with the rest of the summer?" Mitch looked down at the ground in disappointment.  
  
"Don't worry, I'll still be able to come over and play with you everyday! And you'll have time to recover from my last victory at dodgeball!"  
  
"You just wait, next dodgeball game, I'll kick yer." Mitch trailed off as he noticed Buttercup was now just a green streak in the sky, heading off towards the hospital.  
  
************  
  
The Professor was dressed in his regular shirt and tie and waiting at the front door of the hospital. "Hello girls, I'm ready to go ho. whooah!" he was off in midsentence as all three Powerpuff Girls flew into his arms, knocking him down onto the sidewalk.  
  
"Professor we missed you so much! Thank goodness you're better!" Bubbles buried her face in her father's shirt.  
  
"Oh girls, I've missed you, too. You can't believe how boring it was laying around in a hospital bed all day. Although it did give me some time to think up a few new experiments I could start working on! Err. ones that won't be hazardous to my health," he added, noting the worried looks on the girls' faces.  
  
As the girls picked up the Professor and took off into the sky, he said "Say girls, what do you say we go out for a special treat to celebrate us being back together? Maybe we could go to Chuck E Cheezes, or to the stadium to watch a game?"  
  
The girls looked at each other and then back to the Professor. "Maybe another time, Professor," Blossom answered for the three of them. "For now, I think we all just need to spend a little time at home!"  
  
So once again, the day is saved, thanks to the PowerPuff Girls! 


End file.
